Peter Petrelli
Peter Petrelli is one of Heroes' main characters, played by Milo Ventimiglia. His power allows him to use other people's powers. About Peter Petrelli is a nurse living in New York City, though currently unemployed. He has a complex relationship with his older brother, Nathan Petrelli. He is very close to his brother, even claiming he has a close connection to him that allowed him to know immediately when Nathan was in an accident. However, Peter is very different from his brother in that he cares about people. He also had a close relationship with Simone Deveaux. Peter Petrelli is a former-nurse from New York City, and has also lived in Cork, Ireland. Following the events of How to Stop an Exploding Man he lost his memory and was found handcuffed inside a shipping crate by Ricky. He has since shown repeated use of his powers, though he has not been able to consciously activate them. He is currently in a relationship with Caitlin, Ricky's sister, and is trying to find out about his past. History The series opens up with Peter Petrelli standing on a building before falling. Peter then wakes up in the home of Charles Deveaux, a patient under his care. Peter keeps "having these amazing dreams" that he can fly when he closes his eyes. Turning to his brother Nathan, Peter talks about his intense dreams. However, Nathan is a politician running for Congress and extremely busy. Although he does listen, he disregards Peter's claims that he can fly and wonders why Peter would come to him, anyway. News of their mother's arrest for shoplifting interrupts their conversation. At the police station, Peter and Nathan talk with their mother. Recently widowed by their father's death, she has been doing odd things such as this for several months. Nathan, more concerned with his campaign than his mother, tells her to "get over it." Peter attempts to be understanding and talks with his mother while Nathan eventually leaves. As they talk, Peter tells his mother about an almost metaphysical connection he feels he has with his brother, recalling a time in the past where Peter knew Nathan had been hurt prior to anyone contacting him; his mother is unconvinced. Later at the campaign headquarters, Nathan managed to sweep his mother's arrest under the rug and wishes she'd just get a hobby. Peter, on the other hand, simply sees it as a cry for attention and a sign of loneliness. Nathan then transitions the conversation into offering Peter a job as his coordinator. However, Peter is turned off by Nathan's self-serving intentions and attempt to "do the right thing" by him. He declines, saying he doesn't want his brother's pity and walks out. There in the street, Peter hails a cab. The driver just happens to be Mohinder Suresh and the two begin a conversation. Peter asks Mohinder about "being special” and Mohinder eventually tells him about evolution. Suddenly, Peter gets a call from Simone Deveaux - daughter of the patient whose home he woke up in at the start of the first episode — telling him to hurry over to her father's place. Peter and Simone arrive at the apartment of her boyfriend Isaac Mendez. Simone explains Isaac's ability to "paint the future". Simone finds Isaac lying on the ground, apparently overdosed on heroin. She frantically calls 911 while Peter discovers a painting that depicts him flying off of a building. It is also revealed that Isaac painted a large floor mural depicting the city being destroyed in a nuclear explosion. Isaac's only words are, "We have to stop it." Later, Peter stands above a building and summons Nathan to prove that he can fly. However, after jumping off, we quickly learn that his brother can fly. A cliffhanger ensues as the brothers lose their grip on each other. In the next episode, Peter awakens in a hospital bed. At his side is Nathan, who, when asked, claims neither of them flew and Peter simply jumped, nearly killing himself. Between this and his mother's revelation that Peter's late father had apparently been mentally unstable as well as suicidal, Peter is led to believe he's going crazy. Drawing a crude stick figure image with one figure levitating/flying a few feet above the ground, Peter gets an idea. Attempting to cope and find out the truth, Peter stands on the edge of another rooftop later that evening. Nathan arrives, and Peter threatens to jump if Nathan doesn't tell him what really happened. Nathan tells Peter that they both flew. However, Peter thinks that Nathan is lying to make him feel better, and he becomes angry. Nathan then points out that Peter is walking on thin air, Peter is relieved to know that they can both fly. In the third episode, Peter repeatedly tries to fly (or at least levitate) while at a playground, only to crash to the ground each time. Heading back to Campaign HQ, Peter tells Nathan about a book written by Chandra Suresh. Peter believes the author "knows what's going on" and wants to find him, but neither Nathan's focus or his disinterest in his powers have changed. Bumping into Simone after just leaving Charles Deveaux's apartment, Peter tells her he has given up his job as a nurse. He says he no longer feels right "trying to save the world one person at a time" and is meant for something more. As Peter leaves the building, the two comment on hoping to see each other. Later, they do just that at an event held by Nathan. During the event, Peter confesses his love to Simone, stating "I've been in love with you since the moment I first laid eyes on you." During Nathan's speech, he talks about his family, particularly his ill late father. Over the course of the speech, the focus turns to Peter and Nathan publicly refers to Peter's attempt to fly in the first episode as a suicide attempt. Shocked and offended, Peter eventually leaves, followed by a concerned Simone. After the event, Peter punches Nathan as he is getting into his car, calling him a "son of a bitch". Immediately held back by Nathan's bodyguards, Peter furiously denounces Nathan's comment during the speech. When the guards let Peter go, he goes in for another blow to his brother's jaw. Asked by Nathan if he'll at least go along with what was said, Peter angrily shrugs and walks away. Out in the pouring rain, Peter meets up with Simone while trying to hail a Cab. He quickly insists that what Nathan said about him wasn't true and Simone says she knows. Then the two exchange a kiss under her umbrella. The next morning, in "Collision", Peter and Simone wake together. Their resulting conversation is interrupted when Nathan arrives at Peter's door. Nathan says he was accused by Suresh, the man Peter spoke of earlier in the last episode, and believes Peter sent him. Ultimately, Peter turns down another one of Nathan's offers, this time money to do whatever research he wants, but leave Nathan out of it. When Peter returns to Simone and they continue their talk, the subject turns to her coming back to his apartment that evening. Simone explains that she doesn't want to rush into a relationship, having just ended a destructive two-year relationship with Isaac; Peter understands. Later, Peter goes to Suresh's apartment in search of him, only to find the man's son Mohinder. Mohinder tells Peter that his father has died. Peter explains to Mohinder that he believes he can mimic the abilities of other powered individuals when he is near them. Mohinder is skeptical, and Peter offers to take him to Isaac's so he can demonstrate. When they get there, Isaac is locked in a precognitive trance, and does not answer the door. On the subway back, a future version of Hiro Nakamura stops time relative to himself and Peter. Hiro proceeds to tell Peter he looks different from his scarred future self, then says he is there to give Peter a message. After saving the world from Sylar in Kirby Plaza, Nathan whisks him up into the sky allowing him to explode in all directions without harming anyone else. Whether this affected Nathan is unknown. Peter was thought to be dead, however later turned up in a shipping crate in Cork, Ireland, unable to remember who he was or how he got there. Furthermore, his powers had intensified when shooting lightning from his hand at those opening up the crate. He later found that the men were led by Ricky, the head of a gang in Ireland who operated a pub along with his sister Caitlin. Peter was drawn into helping them rob an armored car with his powers in order to see what was in a box that came with him. After obtaining the box he held off for several days while extending his relationship with Caitlin. While on the beach, she told him stories of great Irish heroes. He found that his ability to shoot lightning worked when he said he name. Back at the pub, they opened the box to find his identification and a plane ticket to Montreal, Canada. Just then, he saw the easel explode in colors and began to paint it, using the power he obtained from Isaac Mendez. When finished it showed what might have been him and Caitlin standing at the door of a residence in Montreal, noting the signs in French. Powers and abilities Much mystery surrounded Peter's powers before and after the first few episodes. While every main character was said outright to have a power in press releases, Peter was simply billed as "trying to convince his brother he can fly". Eventually, Peter did indeed display the ability to levitate, but only after his brother flew. The exact power he had and its nature were officially explained in an article from the October 9-14 TV Guide. Peter is actually a power mimic who absorbs the powers of others in his immediate proximity. Though Peter's powers are clearly temporary, as he is shown to be unable to fly when not in the presence of Nathan, the exact time limit he has before they wear off is unknown. Peter seems to be able to use the powers he mimics instinctively, but not willfully, while those he takes the power from usually can't use their powers without actually willing themselves to. In the later episodes it's clarified that Peter is able to use any power whose owner he had contact with, that includes Sylar, at any time he wishes to. Even though he uses only the powers to regenerate and to become invisible frequently. In "Hiros," Peter successfully mimics Isaac's precognition in order to finish a painting. While Peter's eyes undergo the same change as Isaac's, he doesn't use any heroin to activate the ability. He believes his crude levitation sketch was also made by mimicking Isaac's ability to draw the future. In "Distractions", Peter is pushed off a 30-story building by Claude and lands on the roof of a taxi cab. He was impaled by a piece of the cab, but got up and regenerated, like Claire Bennet. It was revealed that Peter has to remember how he felt when he met the heroes to let their powers surface to his use. Full List of Abilities (In Chronogical Order) *Power mimicry or absorption - Original Power *Precognition in dreams - Angela Petrelli *Flight - Nathan Petrelli *Precognition - Isaac Mendez *Space/Time Manipulation - Hiro Nakamura *Rapid Cellular Regeneration - Claire Bennet *Telekinesis - Sylar *Telepathy - Matt Parkman *Invisibility - Claude *Radiation Manipulation - Ted Sprague *Superhuman Strength - Niki Sanders *Electric Manipulation - Elle *Phasing - D.L. Hawkins *Mental Manipulation - Matt Parkman Petrelli, Peter